Motif · from book 1
Faction Wars
The ninth floor's war, named by Prince Maestro on his own show: nine factions, the Skull Clan victorious six times in the last ten, the Blood Sultanate almost always the first eliminated, and a War Leader's seat the prince intends to take.
First appears: Book 1
Series arc
As of book 5. Named in book 1, mapped in book 4, damaged when Larracos drowned — and in book 5 joined: the Dreadnoughts and the Burrowers abandon their spots, the Prism takes one, and the Princess Posse crowd-funds the other. Carl and Donut are co-warlords with fifteen action items; a contractual vote to remove the sponsors' safety protections stands at two to seven with the Skull Empire; of nine teams only the crawlers can die. 'We have two floors to get through, and then we're coming for you.'
Open threads
Status is open or resolved; the chapter after it is the last one that moved the thread.
| Thread | Opened | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Consequences of the flood | B4 ch. 34 | open · B5 ch. 58 — Still flooded, the drains clogged; the Desperado's floors segregated because of it. |
| The Princess Posse in Faction Wars, and the safety-protocol vote | B5 ch. 77 | open — Spot three, inherited from the Burrowers; co-warlords; fifteen action items; two to seven with the Skull Empire; the Dream and the Operatic Collective's citizens might turn it. |
| Empress D'Nadia's Prism in the war, and outside Larracos | B5 ch. 77 | open — A buy-in bid nearly ruined by Carl's corporation; 'looking forward to meeting you on the battlefield outside of Larracos.' |
All threads: Open threads.
Through book 1
Named by Prince Maestro on his own stage: his family's Skull Clan has won six of the last ten, the Blood Sultanate is almost always the first of the nine eliminated, and he will be War Leader this season (B1 ch. 43).
Through book 2
Through book 3
Mordecai over the Ring of Divine Suffering: every winner's champion has one, the factions send tourists to farm them, and crawlers ride the ninth floor 'like it's a tornado passing by overhead' (B3 ch. 30).
Through book 4
Through book 5
Two spots open — the Dreadnoughts and the Burrowers gone (B5 ch. 1, B5 ch. 77) — and the Princess Posse takes one by crowd-funding (B5 ch. 56, B5 ch. 77): Carl and Donut co-warlords, fifteen action items, a contractual vote to remove the sponsors' safety protections standing at two to seven. 'We have two floors to get through, and then we're coming for you.'
Where they appear
| Book | Chapters they are in (of the book's) | Where |
|---|---|---|
| 1 — Dungeon Crawler Carl | 1/48 | Ch. 43 · the book's own page |
| 2 — Carl's Doomsday Scenario | 4/26 | Ch. 2, Ch. 15, Ch. 19, Ch. 26 · the book's own page |
| 3 — The Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook | 2/35 | Ch. 30, Ch. 32 · the book's own page |
| 4 — The Gate of the Feral Gods | 3/35 | Ch. 24, Ch. 28, Ch. 34 · the book's own page |
| 5 — The Butcher's Masquerade | 15/78 | 1, 3, 15, 22, 38, 41–42, 53–54, 56, 58–59, 62, 74, 77 · the book's own page |
By book
Faction Wars in book 1 — Dungeon Crawler Carl
Named by Prince Maestro from his own stage: his family's Skull Clan has won six of the last ten Faction Wars, the Blood Sultanate is almost always the first of the nine eliminated, and he will be there this season as War Leader (ch. 43).
Faction Wars in book 2 — Carl's Doomsday Scenario
The ninth floor's war, filled in from three directions: Mordecai on the system-wide protection that lets the factions fight without dying (ch. 15); Carl's realisation that Prince Stalwart is on the ninth floor setting it up (ch. 19); and Odette on the Blood Sultanate, which only has a place because it bought a permanent spot early on (epilogue). Maggie's Legendary Skill potion would cost many million gold to buy; at the faction wars each clan fills a war chest with such potions and rings (ch. 2).
Faction Wars in book 3 — The Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook
Mordecai, over the Ring of Divine Suffering: every Faction Wars winner's champion has one of these rings, the factions get idiots to hunt them on the sixth floor, and crawlers do not get involved — they ride the ninth floor 'like it’s a tornado passing by overhead' (ch. 30). The Cookbook's note on deities adds that the big gods are sponsored by rich players of a separate game on the twelfth floor (ch. 32).
Faction Wars in book 4 — The Gate of the Feral Gods
Mordecai's full account over Katia's map: nine petals around Larracos, fifteen thousand troops each, gear bought from crawlers once the sixth floor opens, mercenaries hired deep in the city, no fighting until the crawlers arrive, tourists who respawn and NPCs who do not, the King's Point for the last winner (ch. 24). Seven factions sue over the Gate and lose (ch. 28); Priestly's account of the city's end (ch. 33); half the armies hidden in Larracos when Carl floods it (ch. 34).
Faction Wars in book 5 — The Butcher's Masquerade
The Dreadnoughts abandon their stake and nobody can fill the seat (ch. 1); the Gate is promised back on the ninth floor, to sow chaos in the faction wars (ch. 3); hunters here won places in faction armies at camp (ch. 22); the Burrowers, usually out second after the nagas (ch. 38); a franchised prince and a naga's brother (ch. 42). By the end the Burrowers have dropped out at the last minute and the Princess Posse has fielded troops in spot three, Carl and Donut are co-warlords, fifteen action items await votes, one of them contractual — Remove Safety Protections For Faction Sponsors — and the vote is two to seven (ch. 77). Leverage, Carl says, to get as many people to the tenth floor as possible.